As businesses shut down in preparation for Christmas, most employees turn their attention toward their families and friends, in hopes they can ignore their work for a few days. Information security professionals do not have that luxury, however, and the results of a new survey seem to reflect just that.

Security management company nCircle asked business professionals about whether they were afraid that their business could be harmed by a cyber attack over the holiday season, and 61 percent of information security professionals said they were.

IT security experts told PCWorld that many of these fears are unfounded, because a strong cyber security plan should be just as effective when IT security professionals are not actively monitoring systems as it is when they are.

Are small businesses more at risk?

Conventional wisdom would suggest that resource-strapped small businesses might not be as able to protect themselves from cyber security lapses, especially during the holidays. This assumption is reinforced by a Symantec study from earlier this year that found one-third of all cyber attacks are against small businesses.

"It may be that your company is not the primary target, but an attacker may use your organization as a stepping stone to attack another company," Paul Wood, Symantec cyber security intelligence manager, said. "You do not want your business to be the weakest link in the supply chain. Information is power, and the attackers know this, and successful attacks can result in significant financial advantage for the cyber criminals behind them."

This is why comprehensive technology insurance is so critical for businesses that rely on technological innovation. In the event a data breach occurs, this type of insurance can provide identity theft services to affected parties, defense for lawsuits and even PR services. It also protects all assets of these companies, including intangible items like data.